Three sent to hospital after trucks collide in Torrington

By Tom Cleary and Esteban L. Hernandez

Monday, July 22, 2013

TORRINGTON >> A man was cut out of his pickup truck by firefighters Monday morning after his vehicle was struck by a landscaping truck at the intersection of East Albert and South Main streets, police said.

The man, Steve Cutler, was taken to St. Mary's Hospital in Waterbury by Campion Ambulance with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the police report on the accident.

Jason Esposito was the man driving the second truck. He, along with his passenger, Howard White, went to Charlotte Hungerford Hospital on their own for general soreness, the report said. Both were able to get out of the truck on their own.

According to the police report, the accident occurred as Esposito was driving north on South Main Street when he entered the intersection of East Albert St. with a green light. Cutler, driving west on East. Albert St., entered the intersection on a red light, at which time the two vehicles collided. Cutler was driving a white pick-up truck, wile the vehicle with two passengers was a green landscaping truck. The impact of the collision and weight of the two trucks pushed both vehicles onto the lawn of a nearby house.

The accident happened near the Cumberland Farms gas station. Torrington Police responded to the scene at 11:23 a.m., according to the report, along with Torrington firefighters. South Main Street was closed near the intersection as the crash was investigated.

At the scene, Sgt. Joseph Locasio said fault had not yet been determined, and the police report said the accident investigation is still open. No enforcement action has been taken, the report said.

The white pickup truck, a Ford Ranger, had an Advance Auto Parts logo on its door and the landscaping truck, a Ford F-350, is owned by Lawn & Gardens by Norm, LLC, a Torrington-based property management company.

Police shut down the street for about one hour in the area of the accident.